The Baseball Lifers - Part 2

Joseph looks at the best of baseball’s one-team players.  Part 2 of 2.

Here is the American League installment of the exercise to find the best
lineups made up of players who spent their entire career with that
particular franchise.  As before I have come up with full lineups for the
original eight franchises and then just hit the highlights for the
expansion teams.  I have left the Devil Rays out altogether as they havent
been around long enough to have any players really qualify.  I used OPS+ for
position players and ERA+ for pitchers and all of the numbers came from
Baseball-Reference.com.  Players have to have played for a minimum of three
years to be eligible for inclusion on a roster.

Yankees - Whether you love them or hate them you cant deny that the Yankees
have been the most successful team in baseball over the past 80+ years. 
Probably the primary reason for this ongoing success was that they were able
to develop good players, recognize them and then hold on to them.  I know
that this was easier before the days of free agency but still New York has
had so many long-term players that I have listed two for every position and
I am not even sure that found them all.

1B - Lou Gehrig (17 yrs/179 OPS+) & Don Mattingly (14 yrs/127 OPS+) I live
in Evansville, IN and there was a period back in the late 1980s when the
cable system here carried WPIX, just to show the Yankee games.  I had never
been exposed to Phil Rizzuto before and I learned two things, Bill White has
the patience of a saint, and Paradise By The Dashboard Light makes even
more sense after you have heard Rizzuto actually do baseball.
2B Jerry Coleman (9 yrs/83 OPS+) & Bobby Richardson (12 yrs/77 OPS+)
SS Phil Rizzuto (13 yrs/93 OPS+) & Tony Kubek (9 yrs/85 OPS+) Actually,
Scooter was better at the plate than I had thought
3B Gil McDougald (10 yrs/111 OPS+) & Red Rolfe (10 yrs/100 OPS+) A lot of
these guys were still pretty good players when they retired, I guess they
figured they had already earned enough Series rings and it was time to move
on.  Actually in McDougalds case I have read that the Yankees were not
going to protect him in the expansion draft and he didnt want to play
anywhere else.
C   Bill Dickey (17 yrs/127 OPS+) & Thurman Munson (11 yrs/116 OPS) Yogi,
why did you put yourself in for those handful of ABs for the Mets
OF Mickey Mantle (18 yrs/172 OPS+) & Earle Combs (12 yrs/126 OPS+) When
you grew up in the hinterlands back in the late 50s and early 60s (as I
did), the only televised baseball you got to see were the various networks
games of the week.  Then, as now, the Yankees were a prominent feature so I
got to see Mantle play quite a bit.  He was somewhat past his prime years by
then but the thing I remember (at least I think I remember) is that he never
got cheated at the plate; even with two strikes he still took a full cut. 
Of course that resulted in lots of swinging strike outs but you also knew
who was at bat.
OF Joe DiMaggio (13 yrs/155 OPS+) & Roy White (15 yrs/121 OPS+)
OF Tommy Henrich (11 yrs/132 OPS+) & George Selkirk (9 yrs/127 OPS+)
P -  Whitey Ford (16 yrs/132 ERA+) & Spud Chandler (11 yrs/132 ERA+ with
109-43 W-L record)

Red Sox - For all of their past history and historical baggage, the one
thing that amazes me about this team is that, essentially, they only had
four different left fielders from 1939 (Ted Williams first year) through
1995, the last year that Mike Greenwell played regularly.  There have been a
lot of teams go through that many in just a couple of seasons.

1B Carl Yaztrzemski (23 yrs/130 OPS+) Played over 700 games at first
2B Bobby Doerr (14 yrs/115 OPS+)
SS Rico Petrocelli (13 yrs/109 OPS+)
3B Tim Naehring (8 yrs/102 OPS+)
C   Bill Carrigan (10 yrs/94 OPS+) Was only a regular in 1910 but was on
three World Series champions, 1912/15/16
OF Ted Williams (19 yrs/190 OPS+) Lost five years to WWII and Korean War
OF Jim Rice (16 years/128 OPS+)
OF Mike Greenwell (12 years/120 OPS+) Someone might have to DH to get Dom
DiMaggio in the outfield.  He was not a bad hitter (111 OPS+) either.
P   Mel Parnell (10 yrs/125 ERA+ with a 123-75 W-L record)

Orioles - Includes the Browns.  People are always talking about competitive
balance in baseball like that was something that used to exist and has gone
away.  In 1935 the St. Louis Browns drew 80,922 paid admissions for the
entire year.  The American League attendance leader that year was the
champion Detroit Tigers who drew 1,034,929 so the Browns drew about 8% of
the Tigers home attendance.  In contrast last year the Yankees led the AL in
attendance with 3,465,600 while the Tampa Bay Devil Rays brought up the rear
with 1,058,596 paying customers.  This figures out to about 30% of New
Yorks home crowd.  I grant that now paid admissions alone is not the sole
determinant of a teams income as it was in the 1930s but I just wanted to
make the point that there has always been a wide disparity between the haves
and the have-nots when it comes to resources in MLB.  This is one of the
reasons why that bad teams have had trouble hanging on to good players when
they have come up with them; they end up having to move them along in order
to generate income to pay the bills.

1B Hank Arft (5 yrs/90 OPS+) Only 1056 plate appearances
2B Rich Dauer (10 yrs/83 OPS+)
SS Cal Ripken, Jr. (21 yrs/112 OPS+)
3B Brooks Robinson (23 yrs/104 OPS+)
C   Chris Hoiles (10 yrs/119 OPS+)
OF Gus Williams (5 yrs/110 OPS+) Played 1911-15 Might be the best
exclusive Brownie of them all
OF Dick Kokos (5 yrs/108 OPS+) Made the move to Baltimore in 1954
OF Al Schweitzer (4 yrs/95 OPS+) Played 1908-11 Only 1014 PA
P   Jim Palmer (19 yrs/125 ERA+ 268 wins)

Indians -  The Indians were just sort of there when I was growing up; cycling through players and even
uniforms on a regular basis.

1B Luke Easter (6 yrs/125 OPS+) Didnt get to the majors until he was 33
2B Vern Fuller (6 yrs/86 OPS+) Never really a regular, only 883 plate
appearance
SS Ray Chapman (9 yrs/111 OPS+)
3B Al Rosen (10 yrs/137 OPS+) Didnt play long but was good while he was
there
C   Harry Bemis (9 yrs/92 OPS+) 1902-10 Never heard of him before
OF Joe Charboneau (3 yrs/115 OPS+) Rookie of the Year in 1980 and out of
baseball for good by 1983
OF Jack Graney (14 yrs/100 OPS+) Supposedly the first ballplayer to make
the move to broadcasting after playing
OF Joe Birmingham (9 yrs/84 OPS+) 1906-14
P   Addie Joss (9 yrs/142 OPS+ with a 160-97 W-L record) before dying
young.  Bob Feller pitched longer (18 yrs while missing time in WWII) with a
122 ERA+.  Bob Lemon deserves some sort of mention for winning 207 games
while also putting up a 87 OPS+ at the plate.

Tigers - They have fallen upon some hard times recently but overall the
Tigers are one of the more successful franchises in the American League.

1B Bob Ducky Jones (9 yrs/75 OPS+) The weakest position among lifetime
Tigers
2B Lou Whitaker (19 yrs/117 OPS+)
SS Alan Trammell(20 yrs/110 OPS+) Could hardly have one without the other
3B Charlie Gehringer (19 yrs/124 OPS+) Did actually play a few games at
third
C   Bill Freehan (15 yrs/112 OPS+) Detroit native and caught almost 1600
games
OF Al Kaline (22 yrs/134 OPS+) Straight from high school to the Tigers
OF Pat Mullin (10 yrs/115 OPS+) Lost 4 yrs to WWII
OF Gates Brown (13 yrs/110 OPS+) Never really a regular except for a
couple of years but hung around for a long time
P   Tommy Bridges (16 yrs/126 ERA+ with 194 wins) or John Hiller (15 yrs/134
ERA+ in relief)

White Sox - Another one of those teams that for me at least is just part of
the background.  Just as a point of reference I have been to Wrigley Field
probably 30 times over the years and went to old Comiskey once.  I know
there are some die hard White Sox fans out there but for general baseball
fans they come under the heading of one of those generic teams.

1B Mike Squires (10 yrs/78 OPS+) No power at all 6 homers in nearly 1600
at bats; more famous for catching a few games as a left handed thrower
2B Swede Risberg (4 yrs/83 OPS+)
SS Luke Appling (20 yrs/112 OPS+) The one constant on some pretty mediocre
Sox teams in the thirties and forties
3B Buck Weaver (9 yrs/92 OPS+)
C   Ron Karkovice (12 yrs/81 OPS+)
OF Happy Felsch (6 yrs/123 OPS+) I am not going to make any value
judgments on the three Black Sox on this list.  It is more of a comment on
how Chicago has cycled through players than anything else.
OF Johnny Mostil (10 yrs/113 OPS+) 1918-29 but didnt really play until
1920 so avoided contamination with the Black Sox
OF Guy Curtright (4 yrs/115 OPS+) Last year was 1946; the White Sox
starting outfielders in 1947 combined for 12 homers so maybe he got hurt. 
Curtright hadnt played much in 46 anyway so maybe he really wasnt that
good.
P   Red Faber (20 yrs/119 ERA+ and 254 wins).  Ted Lyons pitched 21 years
and recorded a 112 ERA+ [A little cruel to Mostil? -DS]

Twins - Includes Senators Mark I.  You can say what you want about the
Griffiths but they were loyal to their players.  A couple of pretty
decent, long-term Senators didnt make the lineup; Clyde Milan and Ossie
Bluege.

1B Kent Hrbek (14 yrs/127 OPS+) Grew up in the Minneapolis area
2B Ray Morgan (8 yrs/98 OPS+) 1911-18
SS Cecil Travis (12 yrs/108 OPS+) Missed all of 3 years and most of
another due to WWII and was finished by age 33
3B Buddy Lewis (11 yrs/110 OPS+)
C   Patsy Gharrity (10 yrs/90 OPS+)
OF Bob Allison (13 yrs/127 OPS+)
OF Kirby Puckett (12 yrs/124 OPS+)
OF Tony Oliva (15 yrs/131 OPS+) Knee injuries probably kept him from the
Hall of Fame, still pretty good
P   Walter Johnson (21 yrs/146 ERA+ with 417 Wins at an almost .600 winning
percentage

Athletics - The migratory As have had plenty of good players in their
history, unfortunately for their fans they have not been able to hang on to
them.  Whether it was because Connie Mack couldn’t or wouldn’t pay his star
players or because Charles O. Finley just alienated his men to the point
where they left as soon as possible; the As have the weakest group of
career players out of all of the 16 long-term franchises.

1B Troy Neel (3 yrs/127 OPS+) Went to Japan
2B Dick Green (12 yrs/87 OPS+) Known for glove
SS Irv Hall (4 yrs/97 OPS+) 1943-46
3B Pete Suder (13 yrs/71 OPS+) Actually a second baseman but played some
third
C   Earle Brucker (5 yrs/107 OPS+) Only 811 plate appearances
OF Walter French (6 yrs/81 OPS+) 981 AB
OF Leo Posada (3 yrs/86 OPS+) 426 AB
OF Eddie Collins, Jr. (3 yrs/61 OPS+) Looks like his father used up most
of the baseball playing ability in the family
P   Eddie Rommel (12 yrs/121 ERA+ with 171-119 W-L record) I am not
sure how he survived the purge when Mack broke up his last championship team
unless he just retired rather than pitch somewhere else

Angels - Probably the best hitter to play his entire career for the Angels
has been 1B Daryl Sconiers (5 yrs/97 OPS+) who managed 637 AB from 1981-85. 
Both Gary DiSarcina (12 yrs/66 OPS+) and Buck Rodgers (9 yrs/73 OPS+) played
longer but were lesser hitters; if you are not much of a hitter it certainly
helps if play a key defensive position.  The best career Angel hurler is
probably reliever Stew Cliburn who turned in a 128 ERA+ in three years,
almost all of in an outstanding 1985.

Rangers - Includes Senators Mark II.  Assuming that Rusty Greer (9 yrs/120
OPS+) is finished, he is the man.  The only other position player who comes
close is outfielder Dave Moates who put up an 88 OPS+ in 312 AB over three
years of part-time duty in the mid-seventies.  The only pitcher who really
stands out is Roger Pavlik with a 101 ERA+ in his 7 years of Ranger duty.

Royals - Of course here you have George Brett (21 yrs/135 OPS+), but you also
have Frank White (18 yrs/85 OPS+) and John Wathan (10 yrs/83 OPS+).  Kansas
City also has some pretty good pitchers who spent their entire career in a
Royals uniform:  Paul Splittorf who won 166 games (101 ERA+ over 15 years),
Dennis Leonard who managed a 107 ERA+ and 144 wins in his 12 seasons, and
Steve Busby, whose career only lasted 8 years (105 ERA+) but included two
no-hitters.

Brewers - Includes Pilots.  Robin Yount (20 yrs/115 OPS+); this number would
likely be a little higher without those first few years where he was
somewhat overmatched at the plate.  Other career Brewers of note include
Dave Nilsson (8 yrs/110 OPS+), Mark Brouhard (6 yrs/99 OPS+) and the pride
of Fond du Lac, Jim Gantner (17 yrs/88 OPS+).  The best pitching performance
by a career Brewer would be Teddy Higuera who put up a 117 ERA+ in his 9
years, mostly from 1985-90, after that the arm miseries had set in and he
was pretty much finished.

Blue Jays - Not much here.  The best position player to spend his entire turn
with Toronto has been Garth Iorg, who turned in a 72 OPS+ for his 9 year
career as a semi-regular.  Once you get past Iorg you are in to Ron Shepherd
(29 OPS+ in 108 AB) territory.  Pitching is a little better as you can count
Luis Leal (6 yrs/103 ERA+) and Jerry Garvin (6 yrs/94 ERA+) in the list of
lifetime Jays.

Mariners -  I thought I would find Alvin Davis on this list but he had what I
would call a fingernail year in 1992 with the Angels.  In his case Davis
had been signed by California as a free agent but ended up only playing in
40 games before getting released.  As I was researching this article I found
this type of thing fairly frequently, a player spends his entire career with
one team and then moves to another team trying to hang on by his
fingernails.  Sometimes it is successful but more times than not the player
ends up embarrassing himself because he just cant play any longer.  To get
back to the Mariners; until Edgar retires the best position player to spend
his entire career there has been Mickey Brantley (4 yrs/89 OPS+).  The best
pitcher has been Kaz Sasaki who put up a 138 ERA+ in his four seasons as an
M.